Tishomingo County moves toward beer, alcohol election

IUKA – After almost three years of effort to gather more than 2,500 signatures, a lone man determined to have an alcohol election in Tishomingo County has succeeded in his quest.
Charles “Tubby” Aldridge will go before the county Board of Supervisors on Monday with petitions having 2,648 names of county registered voters, more than the 2,593 required.
Circuit Clerk Donna Dill said the petitions would be certified on Thursday, and after Aldridge presents his request for the election to the board, it would determine if the petition is valid. If so, after voting to accept the petition they would have 60 days to call an election.
Aldridge’s quest began in August 2010, and he has spent countless hours and a lot of money running ads in the local Tishomingo County newspaper urging eligible voters to sign the petition.
Tishomingo County is dry for beer, wine and liquor, and the petition calls for an election for or against the county coming out from under the state dry laws to permit the sale of all three. State law required signatures of at least 20 percent of the county’s 12,960 eligible voters to force the election.
Earlier this year, Corinth, which has permitted beer sales for many years, held an election in which voters approved the legal sale of wine and liquor for the first time since the 1990s.
Earlier this month, the city of New Albany also held a liquor election in which voters approved legalizing wine and alcohol sales. City voters approved the sale of beer in 2010.
lena.mitchell@journalinc.com